LEFINAL REMARKS
ON ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE By Sen. Carl Levin
Editor’s Note: During a congressional career that has now spanned some 35 years, Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI) has always been a member the Armed Services Committee. From 2001 to 2003 and again from 2007 to the present, he also served as the committee’s chairman. No matter what, Chairman Levin has always focused on taking care of the men and women of our military and their families, supporting much-needed pay raises and improvements in health care treatment and other policies for wounded warriors. He played a decisive role in the pas- sage of many of AFSA’s key legislative goals—like the receipt of military retired pay and VA disability compensation, the cre- ation and expansion of TRICARE programs, elimination of the Social Security/SBP offset, and, most memorably, congressional approval of the AFSA-led hazardous-duty pay for military firefighters. Chairman Levin is leaving Congress at the end of this session, so AFSA Magazine offered him an opportunity to give some departing remarks, which you will find here. We wish him every blessing in his well-deserved retirement, and salute him for his support of this Association and those who have served or are serving in uniform. Tank you, Mr. Chairman, for a job well done.
I have had the honor of serving on the Armed Services Com- mittee since I came to the Senate in 1979, a time when our nation and our military were very different, and faced very different challenges. From the height of the Cold War to the peace dividend to the post-9/11 era, much has changed, but one thing has remained constant: the strength and dedication of America’s service members and their families. Ten and today, they remain what sets our military apart from every other force on the planet. So, as I prepare to leave the Senate at the end of my term
in January and reflect on my time on the Armed Services Committee, this is what I’ll remember—the rapid change in the national security challenges we have confronted and the remarkable consistency of the accomplishments of our troops. Trough these 36 years, I have tried to keep two priorities
in mind: protecting the American people, and providing our troops and families the support that they need and deserve. I am proud that in an era of increasing political polarization and partisanship, the Senate Armed Services Committee has continued to approach national security on a bipartisan basis. Committee members, whether Democrats or Repub- licans, treat their national security responsibilities seriously and focus on the common good rather than partisan politics.
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VIN BIDS FAREWELL AFTER 35 YEARS
Sen. Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, will retire from Congress after 35 years of service at the end of the current session.
I hope and believe that tradition of bipartisanship will continue on the committee. Our most valuable national security resource is the
American service member. Our service members, in every service, active and reserve component, make enormous sacrifices to protect our nation. Fair pay, solid benefits, and excellent health care alone can’t fully compensate for those sacrifices, but hopefully improvements we have made over the decades have made a difference in the lives of military families. When I first ran for the Senate in 1978, an E-5 with
six years of service made $631 a month in basic pay. Today, that E-5’s basic pay is $2,734 a month—a 19 percent increase, even after accounting for inflation. According to the Department of Defense, the average E-5 in today’s military earns about $60,000 in regular military compen- sation. Tis compares to a median household income of $51,000 in the United States. Just as significant have been improvements in quality-of-life measures, such as housing and health care. In 2008, with the passage of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, we enacted the greatest expansion of education benefits since the post-World War II era. Tat same year, we enacted wounded warrior legislation that has made signifi- cant improvements in how the military cares for wounded troops and their families and eases the transition from the
EYE ON WASHINGTON
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